High rankings for patient care
For the 18th consecutive year, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics ranks overall as one of “America's Best Hospitals,” with eight of the hospital's specialties listed in an annual survey published by U.S.News & World Report magazine. Two of the honored specialties rank among the nation's top 10 in their respective categories in the July 23 issue. The complete list of ranked specialties at UI Hospitals and Clinics includes:

• Otolaryngology (2)
• Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (6)
• Orthopaedic Surgery (16)
• Neurology and Neurosurgery (18)
• Urology (22)
• Kidney Disease (26)
• Gynecology (32)
• Digestive Disorders (40)

The complete hospital rankings are available online at http://www.usnews.com.

Lung Transplant Program revived
Following approval by the United Network for Organ Sharing, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is now the state’s only hospital to perform lung transplant procedures. The Lung Transplant Program’s medical director is Julia Klesney-Tait, MD, PhD; the surgical director is Kalpaj Parekh, MD. For more information, patients and family members should call UI Health Access and ask for Jana Beaver, BSN, RN. For consultation or referral, physicians should call UI Consult.

Convenient, low-cost eye care
Eye patients can now receive timely, low-cost primary eye care services from UI faculty optometrists on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. Created by the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, the new Primary Care Eye Clinic offers routine eye exams in 60 minutes or less. The clinic does not provide medical eye care or contact lens service, which are available through other UI ophthalmology clinics. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call UI Health Access toll-free or 319-356-2852.

Snuffing out smoking
Following the lead of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, the entire UI campus is now smoke-free. Since July 1, 2007, smoking has been prohibited within 25 feet of all UI campus buildings, including parking ramps, enclosed parking facilities, and athletics facilities. The campus-wide ban follows earlier smoke-free policies imposed for UI Hospitals and Clinics and the UI health sciences colleges of medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, and public health.